I have never doubted Ken’s dedication to Reid but the depth of it was brought home to me one morning this weekend when she insisted that he read/sing her board book, “This little light of mine” at the crack of dawn. (She has a strong sense of timing.) I don’t think he had ten words that morning before he started to sing. She loved it and I loved him for doing it. He is a good daddy and she is a lucky girl (me, too).
Archive for September, 2006
This little light of mine – a daddy’s dedication
Monday, September 11th, 2006Labour Day
Saturday, September 9th, 2006We started Labour Day by labouring. Reid and I got some chees bread started – I don’t think I have baked bread since Reid was born. She is becoming an expert ingredient-adder and her stirring technique is developing nicely. 
While our dough was rising, we picked up on Ken’s lead (he was cleaning out the coat closet) and tackled the cupboards on either side of the sink. They’re so narrow and deep they’re a bit of a nightmare and getting something from the end is a challennge. Or it was without a toddler in the house. Reid was only too happy to crawl all of the way into the cupboard where we keep big Tupperware and haul stuff out. 
To think all along the door had a safety latch on it and she couldn’t get in! I managed to identify some things to give away, some containers of Mom’s to return (oh you know you have some, too, Chris/Pam/Roger/Karin ;+)
and some stuff I’m not sure why we ever put them anywhere but the garbage.By the time we got everything put away, it was time to knead the dough. 
Reid liked the texture, the bounciness of the dough and the smell, I think. She tried to get a taste but I tried to discourage her. Who knows if I was successful :+? 
We started some Sourdough Starter while our bread baked. I’ll have to remember to check it tonight to see if it worked.
After naptime, we went apple picking at the orchard behind Reid’s daycare. As we walked down the lane to the trees, Reid was holding our hands. She was running and so Ken and I had to walk faster. 
Apparently we didn’t walk fast enough because she dropped our hands and ran ahead. I’d tried to talk Ken into getting a pole with a basket-thing to pick the high-up apples. He said, “no”. When we got to the trees, he put Reid on his shoulders and they were able to reach many apples. (It shows how your world outlook is shaped by your reality. I’m short and think like a short person while he is practically a giant :+)
Reid loved picking apples! She kept saying, “‘nother one apple, Daddy” and pointing to the place she wanted to go next. When he’d set her down, she would drag the bag of apples we picked, even though she was practically parallel to the ground with the effort of pulling. 
We picked too many apples. I need to bake up a storm so that we’ll need to go again. 
Maybe I should set up a stand in front of our house so that Reid could sell apples she picked. That way, she would get to pick more and play with money (and she loves to play with money!)
I know that some of you may have wondered if I would take a photo of anything as long as Reid was in the photo – here is Reid with her first portapotty.
Since it was a long weekend, I was jonesing for a Starbucks tea and took Reid to get Amanda and a tea and then we played at the park by Amanda’s house. It has pretty good equipment – different structure, even a hand pump and series of troughs. There were big kids at it and so we’ll have to file the memory away for next summer. Reid is so much braver than I expect her to be. She climber up the big steps and went to the big, unfamiliar slide right away. She also has a bit of “small dog who doesn’t know it’s small” syndrome. There were some kids who were at least 8 or 9 and Reid was sure she should be allowed to go play with the sand-throwing, rowdy, rule breakers. Mama disagreed. I helped her slide across on this thing they’re suppposed to hang from and swing from one end to the other. She liked doing that over and over until I felt her slipping and so shifted her weight to make her safer – and bashed her face into the metal handgrip. She had a bit of a bump and some blue bruising but nothing like I was afraid would happen.
I made a fabulous supper (though I don’t recall what right now) but Reid wasn’t interested. We went outside and picked some cherry tomatoes. Reid ate them as fast as she could pick them, even some that were not quite ripe. Maybe she has been listening to “raw food” stories on CBC when I thought she was just playing. Just before bedtime, we spoke with Uncle Roger, Auntie M (Merri-Lynn) and Danielle via Skype (a video phone call over the computer – Voice Over IP, if you want to sound hip). At the end of the call, I suggested that Reid should give them kisses, meaning blow them some kisses. Reid leaned up to the screen and kissed their faces on the screen. It’s too bad they couldn’t see her but at least they could hear the smacks.
Non-stop busy weekend – Sunday
Saturday, September 9th, 2006Reid and I went to Eddie’s for breakfast on Sunday as is our habbit. It was raining but we were lucky enough – or at least Reid was lucky – to have Reid’s Tinkerbelle umbrella with us. Reid doesn’t get enough opportunities to use her “lella”, and so the rain was welcome. I’m learning what its like for Ken to walk with me while I have an umbrella. I spent a fair amount of time with the spines poking me in the neck. Of course, he doesn’t have to carry *me* and negotiate double doors at the same time. Still, there is a chance Reid will get better with time but I think my skills at umbrella handling are as good as they’re going to get. Poor Ken.Brianna, Chantelle and Donald came over for brunch. Donald had had an eventful evening on Saturday and so laid on the couch and so we teased him a bit and ate his share of the pancakes.Brianna took him home after lunch and so they had a girls-only afternoon while Ken and I went to see Little Miss Sunshine and then out for supper. Chantelle and Reid did some beautiful fingerpaintings while we were away. Fortunately, I’d thought to suggest they take Reid’s clothes off before she started painting as it’s a messy business. I’m not sure what Chantelle did but she was clean when I got home. Chantelle also painted Reid’s toe nails – a very cool thing for Miss Reid – and even put a little flower on each big toe nail. 
When we got home, Reid was looking out the window but by the time we got in the house, she was running up and down the length of the living room, giggling like a crazy person. As thet were leaving, Ken thanked the girls for babysitting and I told him not to let Reid hear. I’m pretty sure she barely noticed our absence and would’ve been insulted by the suggestion that she had done anything other than hang with her cousins for some quality girl-time. Our whole family had a great time – thanks Brianna and Chantelle!
Thursday night phone calls
Friday, September 8th, 2006It’s funny how fast something becomes a habbit.
I should start by telling you that Melissa and Amanda life relatively close to one another and that Reid know this and so asks about each of them when we’re in that part of town. She also has decided that she doesn’t see Amanda enough lately.
So anyway, the last few of weeks as soon as we get in the car to drive home Reid asks to call Amanda. Actually she demands, in a loud voice that brooks no disagreement, “Phlone Aunty Amanda” until I dial Amanda’s number. I think I let Reid call one night when she was fussing to go see Amanda and now it’s a habit. Once she has called Amanda, Reid chooses someone else to call (I guess she is on a roll). Often it’s Daddy at the museum or Aunt Kanon (aka Karin) or Grandma. It’s funny to see her in her car seat with a cell phone. I’ll have to take a photo one day.
New music, please
Thursday, September 7th, 2006Reid needs new music in the car. She is tired of Twinkle, Twinkle and Disney Princesses as lullabies. I think Ken may be tired of them, too. I stumbled across Baby Rock records. Check it out.
Non-stop busy weekend – Saturday
Thursday, September 7th, 2006Since I managed to lock both my main and spare keys in the house, I have more time to write while Reid sleeps in the back seat and, if I’m lucky, while Ken comes home from the museum on the bus or at least hears my message and calls to tell me he’ll give me his keys if I come downtown. I finished my last message before looking for my keys. Since I was wrapping up a message that I’d worked on in elevators and on buses, I didn’t mind sitting in the dark. Now that I *can’t* go in, my neighbourhood seems creepy in the dark. :+/
After our failed attempt to watch the balloons take-off (if you don’t know about the balloons yet, go read the other message first) we picked Aunty Amanda (she told me she isn’t an “ie” auntie so don’t tell me I can’t spell :+) up nearly an hour earlier than planned and headed to Cora’s for breakfast. They’re nice enough to give little ramekins with Fruit Loops in them to small people like Reid while the food is cooking. Reid tasted one and stuck her tongue out to have me take it off. Since she still eats the no-sugar Nutrios, I gues the sugary goodness was a bit of a shock to her.
Melissa and Sarah joined us and we went to the Byward Market for fruits, and veggies. Fall is my favourite time in the market, I think. They are still bringing in strawberries from somewhere in Quebec but there are also apples and pears. We bought baskets of sweet peppers that contained a variety of colours, including white and purple. I looked for a peck of purple peppers but they must be hard to grow as they were sold only one to a basket of four. We went to the stall of the lady who makes polar fleece hats that look like animals. Reid needed a hat that said it was for kids 5-8 years of age. She really liked the fish hat and I did, too. As this was the same style Sarah chose, Sarah was pleased, too. While I checked on the various color-combinations for fish hats, Reid wandered about pushing the hat-maker’s child-sized grocery cart. What fun she had. The daycare people mentioned today that she’d been shopping there, too. I’m not sure what it says about how we spend our time. Since it was an outing that involved Melissa and me, we stopped for treats and a hot chocolate. Reid was only too happy to drink her hot chocolate from the little espresso cup I had asked for while I had a bowl to share from. It’s a European thing, I think, to put hot chocolate in bowls. Never say I don’t expose Reid to other cultures!
When we got back from the market, it was time for a nap and then time to assemble the slide that I had found at a yard sale just around the corner from Melissa’s. Ken did the heavy work while I provided not-necessarily-helpful advice (He thought that it was too bad that the one who had to assemble the slide wasn’t the one who had seen it disassembled and the one who *had* seen it taken apart hadn’t paid better attention.) Reid was so eager to slide that she kind of dragged herself along the sloped part as it lay on the lawn. It’s not a giant slide but it has a good slope and it’s in our backyard and so Reid is pleased with us. Now, I have to clean up the basement to make space for the slide over the winter. Soon she’ll be too big for the slide but I got a good deal and am sure I can re-sell it when she is done.
We had supper at Melissa’s Saturday night. Ken is worried that Reid will get hurt playing with the big kids but she has no such fear. He sticks close to her and she sticks close to Ben, Sarah and Stephen. At one point, Ben was behind the couch and Reid was following him. Melissa asked Ben if he thought that it was a good idea for him to be where he was and he said, “Yes”, though of course it wasn’t. At that point she told him he needed to be particularly conscious of his actions since Reid was emulating him and I noted that if Reid were asked “If Ben jumped off a bridge, would you?” she would answer, “yesh,” without hesitation.
I just heard from Ken and he’s on his way home. Hooray! (Sure am glad I used the bathroom before we left Melissa’s and resisted the urge to go to Tim Horton’s drive through for a tea.)
One last summer swim?
Thursday, September 7th, 2006Before supper tonight, Peter and I took the kids into the pool. The temperature outside was 22 degrees and the water was 26.5. They promised me 27 degrees when I was on the deck but it dropped once I was in. I told Reid that she’d be warmer if she kept her body in the water but she doubted me when I was only wet to the waste. Since I didn’t want her cold, wet body on mine, I took the plunge and got wet, too. Turns out I wasn’t lying when I said what I did.
Melissa wouldn’t come in ’cause she said she was a “suck”. I told her maybe she was just “sane”. I think she may have missed out on the fun of one last swim. Or maybe there’ll be another. Reid and I will be in the pool if the opportunity arises when we’re around.
Hot air balloons in Ottawa
Thursday, September 7th, 2006There are many great things about living in Ottawa, not the least of which that Ken and I both have jobs, but the hot air balloons that we so frequently see are certainly among the best. While it’s not uncommon to see some in the mornings or evenings (6:00 am/pm liftoffs seem popular), Labour Day weekend is the best. This year, there were nearly 80 balloons scheduled to be at the Gatineau Balloon Festival. Reid and I went with Melissa and Peter et al for a picnic at Rockcliffe park and to see the balloons. You have to pay to get into the festival but the balloons launch and immediately drift across the river and over Ottawa. Since I’m cheap and prefer not to have to drive or contend with the crowds, it works for me.
Our adventure started with me needing to fit myself into the middle of the backseat of the minivan between Sarah and Stephen’s car seats. With some wiggling I accomplished the first challenge but was almost stumped by how to get the seat belt buckled when my arm didn’t seem to bend at the necessary angle to get my hand between my body and Stephen’s seat. The kids, Peter and I had a good laugh and the trip started off on the right note. (I never appreciated the challenge I give to people who sit next to Reid on the passenger side of our car. I sit behind Ken because I’m short but the buckle-trouble hadn’t occurred to me.)
We picked Melissa up and the mall where she’d been left to buy KFC and then headed for the park. Reid was very quiet in the van. She finds the noise and commotion of the kids and Melissa and me a bit overwhelming at first. Soon enough, she joins in the commotion. Peter is usually pretty quiet and maybe they silently exchange messages.
At the park, friends of Melissa’s from the ‘burbs parked just after us and so we ate all together. KFC isn’t tempting when it’s sort of cold. Not hot enough to be hot and not cold enough that the fat has congealed enough to pull off. The setting was nice and the kids happy.
Reid was left of the big kids game of tag but played catch with me until they started to play soccer. Ben was standing relatively near us (but farther away than I thought Reid would venture on her own) and Reid boldly walked over to him. He’s still one of her favourite people, certainly her favourite of Melissa’s kids, despite the effort Sarah makes to be nice. Shortly after Reid got to Ben, he turned and walked toward where Melissa and I were standing with Reid at his heels and I said, “Ben is coming to say Reid is bugging him.” Ben said something like, “I’m goalie and Reid is distracting me and she might get hurt by the ball.” He’s a wise boy, Benjamin, who knows to mention Reid’s well-being.
Soon enough it was time to buy ice cream – we’d pretty much given up on the balloons lifting off because it was windy – and on our way to the dairy bar we saw our first balloons. Reid got a rainbow sherbet cone (just like Sarah and Ben) but she was lucky enough to get such a small scoop that it stayed in the cone. Not so Ben who ignored his mom’s directions on how to lick it and ended up with a ball of ice cream on the floor by the time Melissa was paying. Reid got sooo messy eating her treat! She kept working on it long after the others had finished theirs. I finally got the last soggy bit of cone from her when we were ready to leave what seemed like an hour later.
The balloons were pretty cool. There was a red brick house, a teddy bear, a pirate in a barrel and then a bunch of “regular” ones in a rainbow of colours, even rainbow balloons. We saw thirty or so in total. Reid looked at them some but they were all pretty far away. I think in the past they’ve flown more directly over the park.
By this time, it was getting dark and the bugs were getting aggressive and so we headed for home.
On Saturday morning at 7:00 am, Reid and I went to the Aviation Museum where they had made arrangements for 10 balloons to launch. Unfortunately, it was too windy and so we went out for breakfast extra-early. Btw this might be the only time this year that you see me write “Reid and I went to the Aviation Museum” – it’s not my favourite museum. There are too many “machines” for me to focus. I am too fast going through to go with Ken but since it’s been at least five years, I’m do for a visit. Maybe in January ;+)
Saturday and Sunday were too rainy and windy for any balloons to lift off but on Monday night after supper we were playing in the backyard when we noticed balloons. We saw two or three at a time, probably to a total of twenty or more. They were so low we could hear them lighting the fire. Reid and I went chasing one that we thought was going to land in the vacant lot near Old Navy. Unfortunately for us none landed in the vacant lot and we didn’t have time before bed to go to the golf course where I’m pretty sure they were actually landing. Maybe next year they’ll be able to launch on Saturday or Sunday night and we’ll be able to chase one to a landing site.
Maybe one of you will come to visit and see them land with us.
4:00 am is sleeping time
Thursday, September 7th, 2006At 4:00 this morning Reid woke up. She was asking me “Daddy doing?” ie, what Daddy was doing (sleeping in the big beg), Aunty Amanda doing? (sleeping in her bed), Marsh aka Mars? (sleeping on the big bed), Leo?, Baby?, Winnie Pook? (we call Clio “Pook”) all sleeping but not Mama and not Reid. After determining that everyone was sleeping, Reid decided to say “Anh” which is her code for needing to use the potty. To be sure (and I because I was hoping to go back to sleep :+), I asked if she had to go pee. “Unh-huh bathroom,” she responded as thought I might insist she go in her diaper. Then she added, “Little potty Reid, big potty Mama.” Maybe she did know that I was really tired.
She was a chatty Cathy in the bathroom. I was starting to fall asleep when she finally agreed to go back to bed. She was still chatty but I was able to snooze and she eventually fell back asleep. I’m still glad that she is potty trained, though.
Hello world!
Wednesday, September 6th, 2006Finally, I have entered the blogosphere. It’s a big thing for a technogeek like me. By the time that Reid can write, it’ll either be so old hat as to seem silly to her that I was excited about it or it’ll be a thing of the past. Either way, I’ll have a record of her when she was “smallish”, as Winnie the Pooh would say.
I have posted some stories that I circulated via email before I started the blog. Scroll down for them.